Faith in Hinduism

[mrabe at artic.edu]

To John Power's student interested in _the role of faith in Hinduism_:

Another angle I would recommend, with questions of _faith_ bearing on
contending theories/theologies of _Grace_, is Raja Rao's novel, _The Cat
and Shakespeare_.
(Pardon, the incomplete citation).

 As you may know, it is said that the Vaisnava (?) parallel to the
Christian debate over Predestination vs Free Will turns on the motif of
mother love:  does one have faith in an all-controlling Divine that carries
one, like it or not/unmerited favor, by the scruff of the neck, or must one
hold on for dear life, like the baby monkey?

Michael Rabe
Assoc. Prof. South Asian Art History
Saint Xavier University
&
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago


>A student of mine is doing a research project on the role (fi any) of faith
>in Hinduism, both (or either) classical and contemporary. I really can't
>think of any sources that discuss this topic, but if anyone else can, I'd
>greatly appreciate it if you could share them. I'll pass them on to my
>student.
>
>John Powers
>Faculty of Asian Studies
>Australian National University


Raja Rao.

      Title:  Cat and Shakespeare